Tom Riddle's Eighth Horcrux
by Gaby Waters
Summary: All is perfect in the lives of harry, Ron and Hermione. But then the worst happens when they are introduced to American sparkling vampires.
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

It was a fine day in the life of Harry Potter, sat out in the sunshine, sipping Firewhisky with Ginny. He had his wife, he had a child, everything was back to normal since the Second Wizarding War. Besides, the Dark Lord Voldemort had permanently died almost 5 years ago. What could happen now?

Well, the answer for that came to him when he was in bed later that night. He took his glasses off, lay with Ginny and started to fall asleep. And he had a dream.

He woke with a start. It was a familiar place, but not as he knew it. He couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Hello?" he shouted. "Anyone! Where am I?" And then a distant echoing, calling "Harry, Harry! I need to-"

And then it faded, as dreams annoyingly do, as he rolled over in his sleep. He woke only a few hours later and got dressed to go out with Ginny and James, their baby. They were planning to meet Ron and Hermione, their in-laws and best friends. Harry had little time to dwell on the dream so he would think about it later. They met them there and they talked about the future, as Ron and Hermione were deciding on whether or not to have a baby of their own. After a little while, the girls went to go and buy chips for lunch and meet the boys back outside, as Ron had become very interested in an item in a Muggle shop window.

"Ron, it's only a Muggle one. They don't really fly on them!"

"Well, then, what the bloody hell do Muggles use brooms for then?"

"They sweep the floor with them!"

"No, no, no, Harry, I'm telling you, that so-called 'Muggle broomstick' just so happens to be identical to the Comet 260! Should I buy it to test it out?"

"Ron, I'm telling _you_ , it's just a simple Muggle cleaning appliance!" Harry laughed at him.

"Yeah, you're right." Ron said.

"Thank you! Finally-"

"I can just buy it another time when Hermione's not around. Hey, i could do like what Dad does, keeping Muggle things hidden in the shed!"

"That's really not what I-"

"We've got so much time left. It's not like we've got You-Know-Who to worry about anymore, is it? You know what, Harry, I might buy a few, just to be sure...ooh! I could even try and use a flying charm on them if they are Muggle ones...would that work? I'm not really sure..."

But Harry had stopped listening. He hadn't had any strange dreams since Voldemort was alive, but now, what if...?

NO. There was no way that Voldemort could still be alive! Harry had watched him die! Unless he could come back to life somehow..? No, that was ridiculous. Ludicrous. Simply impossible! No magic could awaken the dead! But he couldn't be too careful. Perhaps if he waited until he had the dream again tonight? Yes, surely that would help. then he might at least find out what was going on.

Ron was still blabbering on about the Muggle broom.

"...and I just think, that if we tested them out then it could really change-"

"You're right, Ron."

"What?"

"Absolutely 100% correct. Chase your dreams. Achieve your ambitions. Shoot for the stars...while you can."

"Shooting Star? No way, Harry, I still think that that broom looks more like a Comet 260."

Harry followed the same routine that night as he did the last; he removed his glasses, lay next to his lover, and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Dream

Harry woke again. "Harry, Harry! I need to talk to you!" The echo was closer this time and a figure emerged. It was none other than Professor Albus Dumbledore.

"Where am I? And how are you here?" He suddenly realised. It was King's Cross Station. But in limbo. Again.

"Harry, you are in danger." Dumbledore approached swiftly. "Grave, perilous danger."

"Oh, no, is it Voldemort?!"

"Harry!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I'm appalled at you!"

"What...what did I even do?"

"Don't be so judgmental."

"Oh, sorry, sir."

There was an awkward silence.

"So...is it Voldemort then?" Harry broke the silence.

"It is, yes."

"But I _saw him die!"_

"We were wrong. About the horcruxes. There were _eight."_

"But I thought you said that it would make sense or something if he made seven cus it's the most magical number or whatnot?!"

"Harry, ask yourself, when has Voldemort _ever_ made sense?"

"Erm...er...um..."Harry struggled to think of such a time. "Okay, you're right. So what is the horcrux?"

"It is a girl; a vampire, but the thing about this horcrux that makes it so much different from the others, is she is what we call Unstable. She is not a fully fledged horcrux for whatever reason, but she can help Voldemort back to power in a short space of time. She has been alive since around 1985, so we have had plenty of chances to destroy her-"

"I would have been a four-year-old orphan at that point! _And_ I would have thought I was a Muggle!"

"Oh, my apologies, Harry. However, you have the chance to destroy her now. But it must be done with caution."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Because, firstly, she is bringing Voldemort back to life. Secondly, if you do not do it either at the right time or in the right way, the Unstable horcrux will send out a weapon to transform the planet into a hellhole."

"What's the weapon?" Harry was intrigued. These Unstable horcruxes were a lot to process.

"A bookseries...about her life in a supernatural love triangle. It is called..." He glanced around nervously and his voice dropped to a whisper, "the Twilight series."

"How long do I have to destroy the horcrux? Because you said at the right time and in-"

"The right way, yes. You have until sunset on Thursday evening until Voldemort returns and the Twilight series is to be released. Voldemort's 73rd birthday."

"But that's not even three whole days! How am I supposed to-"

"And the only way to kill an American vampire is to decapitate it and set it on fire, however you must incorporate a very powerful substance to destroy the Unstable horcrux, such as Basilisk venom."

"So," Harry was still trying to get his head around the whole thing, "basically, cut her head off with the sword of Gryffindor and then set her on fire?"

"In theory, that would work."

"Thanks, professor. Oh, you didn't mention- what's her name?"

"Isabella Cullen."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

"It is time for you to awaken now, Harry, my child."

"Erm, sir? You know I'm 22 now, so please don't call me 'your child'."

"It is time for you to awaken now, Harry, my boy. You must go and destroy the Unstable horcrux before the book series wreaks havoc on the whole world! Be courageous! Good luck."

Harry woke suddenly. He climbed out of bed quietly, so as not to wake Ginny, and began to pack a bag.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Hunt

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Ron? Ron, wha...what's going on?"

"Just someone at the door, Herm, I'll get it."

Hermione stifled a yawn and mumbled, "What time is it? _Lumos,"_ Her wand lit up, flooding the bedroom in light. She shone the light upon her watch. 3:45.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! The knocking was more urgent this time.

"Alright, _alright."_ Ron huffed, reaching the door. "Merlin's beard, Harry! What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"I need your help," Harry said. He had a bag on his back. "It's important."

"Ok...come on in. This had better be important..."

Ten minutes later, they were all sat around the dining table, sipping cups of coffee.

"So, what's so urgent that you have to wake us up at this time in the morning?" Hermione grumbled.

"Where's Ginny?" Ron asked sternly.

"I've already told her where I've gone. Well, where we're going."

"We?" Ron and Hermione said together.

"Dumbledore was wrong. Turns out we didn't destroy all of the horcruxes."

And he explained everything to them. They were shocked.

"But what kind of harm can a bookseries do?" Hermione asked, when Harry had finished.

"Hermione, now is not the time to express your love for books. These books are dangerous, _far_ more dangerous than anything you'd find in the Restricted Section at Hogwarts!"

"So how do we find this vampire girl?" Ron interrupted.

"Well, Dumbledore said that she was an American vampire, so I'm guessing she lives in America somewhere. Plus, vampires hate sunlight, so it'll probably be a cold place in America."

"So, like Alaska, or Dakota, or Forks?" Hermione said knowledgeably.

"Where and where of where?" Ron muttered.

"Exactly." Harry said.

"I'll start researching clans in those areas then," Hermione walked out of the room, most likely to consult some books.

"Well, who'd have thought...another horcrux hunt!" Ron sighed.

"It'll be easy this time, she's just a vampire. And there's only one horcrux, so..." Their last horcrux hunt had been far from enjoyable, with Ron walking out on them and them having no leads as to where the horcruxes might be and how to destroy them, but it was worth it in the end, as Voldemort died (or so they thought).

4:30. Hermione walked back into the dining room, her arms full as books, as they had expected.

"Well, I read about two American vampire clans; one in Forks and one in Alaska. The one in Forks is called the Cullen clan, and the one in Alaska is-"

"CULLEN!" Harry exclaimed very loudly, making Hermione yelp and drop all of her books, landing with an almighty crash.

"Bloody hell, Harry!"

"Sorry, but the Cullen clan, I forgot that Dumbledore said her last name was Cullen. Her full name is Isabella Cullen!"

"Excellent! Now we know exactly where to go!"

"Ok, then, you two- if you're coming," At this, Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously, "then go and pack. Then we can apparate up to Forks, destroy the horcrux, and save the planet." He felt confident. They'd killed Voldemort once, surely they could do it again, right? Not that he was exactly alive again now...

Ron folded a pair of trousers. He was back in the bedroom with Hermione and they were packing clothes and, in Hermione's case, enough books to fill the Hogwarts library.

"Hermione," he said softly, "are we really doing this?"

"Of course, why not? We have to help Harry." She looked up from her packing.

"Well, what if we don't find this vampire? What if...one of us walks out?" He was looking awkward; he hadn't wanted to walk out last time, he was just angry and jealous, which wasn't even his fault; it was the horcrux affecting him. But what if this Unstable horcrux affected him, but he never saw them again? The very thought frightened him.

"Ron," Hermione walked over to him and took his hands in hers. "I promise nothing will happen between us." She reached up and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "Everything will be fine."

Moments later, the couple came downstairs with Hermione's small beaded bag.

"You still have that?" Harry was surprised. It had been half a decade, after all.

"Of course. The undetectable extension charm was a bit worn though, so I cast a new one, and it's working even better than before." Hermione beamed. "Shall we go then?"

They stood, side by side, and apparated, ready for a new adventure.


End file.
